The present invention is directed to a disposable, single-edged safety razor blade of the type having a cutting edge and an opposing, blunt non-cutting edge and, more particularly, to an improved safety razor blade tool having a "rubberized," slip-resistant protective cover over the non-cutting edge to allow for a more comfortable and secure grip of the safety razor blade when used as a cutting tool.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a disposable, single-edge safety razor blade 15 that was originally developed for shaving. The blade 15 is substantially rectangular and has a lengthwise cutting edge 16 and an opposing non-cutting edge 17. A thin metal strip 18, coextensive with the length of the blade is wrapped around the non-cutting edge 17 and crimped in place to serve as a protective cover for the non-cutting edge. This strip 18 also provides a thicker profile for easier handling and holding of the blade 15 by a user.
While single-edge disposable razor blades have long been supplanted for shaving purposes by more modern razor blades and disposable razors, such blades have found wide-spread use as general purpose, low cost, disposable, light-duty cutting tools. For example, people, use the safety razor blades for scraping paint from glass and for cutting sheets of paper and other materials.
While blade holders of various designs providing a good grip for cutting for the type of blade shown in FIG. 1 are known and available, most users prefer to use the blade without a holder by grasping the metal strip 18 during use. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide the disposable, single-edged razor blade of the type shown in FIG. 1 with a protective cover for the non-cutting edge that provides a more secure grip to improve the effectiveness of the blade as a general purpose cutting tool.